The Liger King
by hiddengrotto14
Summary: I'm not good at summaries so... Read it and find out. Review please. Rated T for animal on animal violence.
1. Chapter 1

A sleek tigress stumbled through the African grassland.

"Ugh... Why did I leave the reserve?" [1] Alopa panted. She had been injured by an impala she chased out of the reserve. She twisted and gave the wound on her thigh a delicate lick. Alopa growled as her paw slammed down into a thick mud puddle. The storm the night before hadn't done her any favors. She opened her mouth to taste the air, which smelled of wet grass. But a rank scent made her nostrils burn and she curled her lips back.

"What an interesting creature?" Something cackled behind her. Alopa growled at the trio of female spotted animals. They resembled the painted dogs she sometimes saw taking down gazelle, but these animals were bigger and smelled of death and carrion.

"I've never seen a lion like it, Akinyi." One of the females cocked her head. The largest female, Akinyi, had a muzzle covered in scars.

"I don't care, she's alone isn't she? Easy pickings for us." Akinyi eyed Alopa's wound and bared her yellow teeth.

"I'm a tiger, I have no idea what a lion is. But, I'll be much more harder to take down!" Alopa snarled.

"Enough!" A voice roared. A large dark cat with a black and brown mane stalked towards them. "I told you filthy delinquents to leave the Pridelands. Didn't you get the message last time, Akinyi?" He flexed his claws and Akinyi flinched back, tenderly licking the scars on her muzzle. Alopa stared at the stripeless cat before her. He looked so...strange. He's coat was dark brown with a hint of gold and his tail had an odd brown tuft. The ruff of black/brown fur around his neck was even more unique.

"You don't scare me!" Akinyi snapped. The dark cat gave a single roar, and that's all it took for the trio of animals to sprint away with their tails tucked under them. Alopa took a step forward and a sharp pain erupted in her hindleg. She grunted and fell to the ground. Black spots blanketed her vision. The last thing she saw was other cat giving her a worried look before she fainted.

* * *

[1] There is a reserve in Africa called Tiger Canyon that is trying to raise tigers in the wild. I know tigers aren't native to Africa :P


	2. Chapter 2

Although many of the characters in this story are mine, I don't own TLK. I'm open to putting the characters of others in the story. If you would like to see an OC in The Liger King, feel free to PM me. You must describe the character's name, gender, physical description, and personality. Not many OCs will make it in, but I'll see what I can do.

* * *

Desta crouched low to the ground, getting in position to attack the buffalo. His golden fur was complemented with faint brown stripes and kept him well hidden in the grass. _You're mine...! _Desta wiggled his haunches, ready to pounce.

"You'll never catch anything with you being noisy like that." A snide voice snapped Desta back into reality. The buffalo turned back into a butterfly, which rode a gentle breeze to safety. Desta turned to see a female cub a bit older then him, sitting with her nose sticking in the air, in that snobby pose Desta hated.

"What was wrong with my approach, since you have _soooo_ much experience." Desta glared at her. She stepped on his tail.

"You kept lashing your tail back and forth like a deranged snake, any real prey would have heard you from a mile away. Seriously Desta, if you're going to try to hunt at least do it right."

"Oh yeah? I would have gotten it if you hadn't started trampling all over the place, Ajia. And besides, isn't hunting girls work?" Desta challenged.

"Well, yeah. But any male can take down prey...if he's good enough." Ajia snorted. "Well my mom should be back from hunting trip. I bet she caught more than Apopa."

"It's Alopa."

"That's what I said, Stripey."

A roar sounded from the top of Priderock, sounding that the hunting party had finally been spotted again.

"Well, let's see whose mother is the better hunter. Whoever caught the bigger peice of prey and the most is the better hunter."

"Bring it." Desta growled.

Ajia gave another snort and trotted away, tail and snout pounted skyward.

* * *

Desta hopped up atop the peak of Pride Rock next to his father, the king of the Pridelands, as they watched the first female drag a wildebeest out of the grass. It was Aija's mother, Marigold. Desta gave a worried growl.

"Marigold, where are the others?" Desta's father asked.

"I don't know, Bomani. I broke off from them when I sented a lone wildebeest." She dropped the limp animal [1] and licked her paw. Bomani shook his mighty head, ruffling his black/brown mane. He got up and gave another roar. Bomani pricked his ears waiting for a response and flicked his tail satisfied when a female roared back. A young lioness burst out of the grass, clearly excited about something.

"Bomani, you'll never guess what Alopa found! It's huge!" She yelled up to them.

"What is it, Kubwa?" He asked.

"Hurry up! We need your help to drag it back here." Kubwa ran away again and Bomani gave an annoyed growl.

"It's always something new when Alopa hunts..." He sighed. Bomani stretched and quickly galloped down with Desta at his side.

"What do you think she got?" Marigold twitched her ears.

"It's probably just a gazzle she stole from a cheetah or something... It can't be that great. You know how Kubwa makes a mountain out of a termite mound." Ajia scoffed and pawed at beetle.

"SIRE!" A voice came from above. Everyone turned to see a hornbill flying and a serval bounding towards them.

"Nuzu and Akins, this better be important." Bomani took a step back as the bird collapsed gasping for air.

"He's back." Akins lashed his tail and clawed up a clump of grass. The serval was one of the king's advisers. He had been offered the high status job after rescuing Desta when he was younger from a rouge baboon. Nuzu was still panting, her sky blue feathers ruffled. "Come on feather face, you're acting like a half drowned field mouse." Akins lightly batted her with his paw.

"You mean-?" Bomani started.

"Yes, it's Talib. And he's brought a group with him." Nuzu said, slowing her breathing enough to speak.

"He doesn't know when to give up does he...?" Bomani growled. "Marigold, get the other lionesses to help bring back whatever Alopa's caught. Take some of the older cubs like Ajia."

"Yes, your magesty." Marigold gave an elegant bow and went to retrieve the others from the resting den.

"Desta, you come with me. It's about time you've learned how a king handles males that want to take over his pride. Akins where is he?"

"He's waiting up near the Graveyard."

* * *

Bomani and Desta walked up to the dark corner of the Pridelands where the elderly elephants came to die. Desta shivered as the smell of death reached his nose.

"Talib! I'm waiting!" Bomani roared. He plopped down and rested his broad head between his paws. Desta felt a chill run through his body at the thought of a group of lions creeping out of the darkness and attacking his father. _Stop worrying. _Desta scolded himself._ Dad will take care of them. No one can beat him. Wait... Is he sleeping?!_ Desta looked down at Bomani, who looked quite comfortable and untroubled. The snap of a bone made him jump.

"I see you were brave enough to come here, Bomani. And look, you even brought a cub with you." A voice came from the darkness.

"Uh, dad..." Desta shook his father's shoulder, but Bomani didn't budge. He continued to snore and didn't even react to Desta's touch. A dusty gold lion with a brown mane stalked towards them. Four other lions brang up the rear. From the size of their manes, Desta could tell they were only recently sent away from their previous prides. Desta gasped when he noticed the younger lions were terribly skinny. Their ribs could be clearly seen and their fur and manes had missing patches. "Dad...!"

"It seems Bomani isn't going to be awake for this fight. Wouldn't that count as a technical knock out?" Talib sneered. The other lions snickered and laughed, except for one. He glared at the Talib in disgust. From the look of him he was the youngest of them. "Maybe I should just let you guys handle it." Talib yawned.

The one lion, who looked as crazed as a rabid hyena, launched himself at Bomani.

"DAD!" Desta froze as the lion came closer. Bomani sprang forward with amazing speed, headbutting the youngster's chest. The skinny lion had the air knocked out of him. He hit the ground with a thud and quickly ran away deeper into the Graveyard.

"Now Talib, what were you saying?" Bomani flexed his claws and growled.

"Don't worry, Talib! We'll teach him a lesson!" Two of the lions raced towards them. The first one pounced for Bomani. Bomani swerved and raked his claws down his side [2]. The lion howled in pain and retreated. The second one went for Desta. Desta yelped as the lions jaws snapped a hair length from his face. Desta reared up and lashed out. His paws connected with the lions snout and the lion snarled in annoyance. "You think you can fight with those moves, runt?!"

The fourth lion pounced and landed on the third, driving his muzzle in the dirt.

"We don't attack cubs." He hissed in the others ear. He lifted his paw and let the other lion scramble away. "Enough, Talib. This fight was over before it even begun. I should have never let my brothers join you."

"I knew you'd try to weasel your way out of a fight, coward!" Talib growled the the other lion. "Your brothers said you were weak, but I decided to give you a chance. My mistake."

"What he says is true. This lion has more nobility and wisdome during his youth than you will ever have in a single lifetime." Bomani said. Talib seethed at this and launched himself towards them.

"Shut your muzzle, or I'll do it for you!"

**_BANG!_**

Talib came to a halt at the sound. Time seemed to stop as everything went quite. The vultures soaring up above stopped squawking. The wind stopped. Even an ant crawling across Desta's paw frooze. And then Desta noticed the hot, burning feeling in his ear.

~Line break thingy (the button wasn't working so... :\ )~

[1] What did I rate this? K+? I think that age group can handle some animal on animal violence

[2] On second thought... ._.


	3. Chapter 3

"I can't believe it! This well feed us for a long while." Kubwa said in awe. All the lionesses crowded around the dead elephant Alopa had killed. She hadn't taken it down herself of course. She had found it wounded, groaning in pain on the ground. Alopa had simply put it out of its misery. "Alopa, you're truly amazing!"

The pride that rose inside Alopa was quickly replaced by the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she had found the elephant, it had an odd puncture wound in its hindleg. The wound was infected and had a metallic scent. This was what puzzled Alopa the most. _What could create such a wound...? Something isn't right about all this. _Alopa thought. She looked up as a group of lionesses and cubs galloped towards her.

"Hm. It seems Kubwa wasn't kidding when she said your catch was large."

"Wow! I've never seen an elephant this close!" A dark furred cub bounded towards the pachyderm and closely studied its trunk and tusks.

"You can check it out later, Abeke. Right now, we need to get it back to Pride Rock," Alopa growled as a jackal barked not to far away. "before anymore scavengers show up."

* * *

"Nice one, Alopa. I haven't seen anyone bring back an animal this big since I caught that giraffe in my youth." An elderly lioness greeted the lionesses and cubs as they hauled the elephant to the base of Pride Rock.

"Thank you, Vitani[1]. You and the cubs can eat first." Alopa dipped her head respectfully to the older big cat and took a step back as the three elders dug into the elephant's haunch. Alopa quickly slunk away from the others and to the back of Pride Rock. She opened her mouth and the small, metallic object slid from under her tongue.

"What is this...?" Alopa had scraped this from out of the wound and hid it in her mouth. She wedged it between her claws and gave an annoyed growl. "This object... So small, but able to bring down an elephant? This makes no since!"

"I've seen them before..." Vitani's voice said. She came up next to Alopa and sat down, her bones creaking with age.

"How did you-?"

"I saw the elephant's wound and smelled the scent on your breath." Vitani unsheathed her sharp claws, making Alopa uneasy.

"So, how have you seen it before?" Alopa asked.

"My brother and Bomani's father, King Kovu, was struck down by one. These things are called bull-ETS. Man has used them to hunt many different animals. Their presence has affected many. Elephants, lions, cheetahs, and even the smallest of animals has been affected." Vitani lashed her tail in anger.

"But not all humans are like that... I was raised by one... He would never do that." Alopa turned to face Vitani.

"Not all of man have made such mistakes, some actually try to help us when we wounded. See this scar?" Vitani lifted her neck to show a faint scar that ran from her left ear to her right hip. "A gang of hyenas did this to me. A group of humans found me, healed my wounds, and then released me after a moon-cycle[2]."

"But why do they do this?"

"For fun... To make themselves think they are at the top of the food chain. But they're wrong, only their bang sticks and bull-ETS make them deadly. With out them, they're as weak as a caterpillar." Vitani got up and slowly walked away. "Stay sharp, Alopa. This is a sign that man is back in the Pride Lands. Don't ever let your guard down when you're out alone."

"I'll...keep that in mind." Alopa sighed. "By the way... Where is Bomani and Desta?"

**BANG!**

Both cats shot up and the sound. It was quite far away, but still loud.

"What was that...?"

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

"Vitani...?" Alopa turned toward the lioness.

"No! NO! NO! NO! This already happened to Kovu, I will not let my brother's offspring be killed!" Vitani bolted towards the Elephant Graveyard.

"Alopa! What was that?!" Everyone charged around Pride Rock.

"I don' know... But Vitani, Bomani, and Desta are in trouble! Nuzu, fly ahead and find out what's going on."

"On it!" The hornbill soared after Vitani.

"Everyone, stay here. I'm going after them." Alopa sprinted away. "Hang in their Bomani, stay strong Desta... I'm on my way...!"

* * *

**Hey there! VERY sorry I haven't updated in a while. My cousin accidentally downloaded Windows Safety Master and that stupid thing wouldn't even let me open Microsoft Word!**

[1] I just HAD to put Vitani in this.

[2] Moon-cycle = month


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